Six Farms Apply For Licenses

Written by Peter McIntyre Tuesday, 17 September 2013 14:00
It seems not that many North Okanagan farms want to take part in a government pilot project. Six farms made applications for five Class E licenses prior to the Friday's deadline. The successful producers will be allowed to sell their meat on their farms which the government feels will help the struggling industry. An Agriculture Ministry spokesperson says the next step for the applicants will be training, with the licenses potentially being issued later this year. Agriculture Minister Pat Pimm said earlier, allowing small scale farm gate sales of beef, pork, mutton and poultry is seen as a safe way to help the struggling industry. Some critics of the program, which was announced as part of new safety regulations in February, had suggested five licenses was not nearly enough to help local farmers.